LAS CRUCES - The Ohio man charged in the Aug. 12 slaying of Hatch police Officer José Chavez said in recent court filings that he is in jeopardy of not receiving a fair trial in Doña Ana County and asked for a judge to move next year’s proceedings to another jurisdiction.

In a nine-page motion filed last week, Jesse Denver Hanes, 38, said he believes that media coverage of his case, specifically by the Sun-News, has been “overwhelming” and contends that “the saturation and the inflammatory impact of the media coverage will deny him a fair and impartial trial.”

He is seeking to move his trial, scheduled to begin April 3, 2017, before District Judge Douglas Driggers in 3rd Judicial District Court in Las Cruces, to another county “to ensure (a) fair trial and due process.”

Authorities said he was driving a 1991 silver Lexus that had been pulled over by Chavez around 3:40 p.m. on Franklin Street in the village of Hatch, 40 miles north of Las Cruces. Hanes is accused of shooting Chavez in the neck as the officer asked for him to step out of the vehicle.

Chavez, a Las Cruces resident and two-year veteran of the Hatch Police Department, was pronounced dead at University Medical Center in El Paso after undergoing emergency surgery.

The shooting set off a violent chain of events, beginning with a high-speed pursuit that reach speeds of more than 100 mph. Authorities said that when Hanes reached the area of Rincon, he parted ways with his two passengers, James D. Nelson, 36, and Tony Jones, 44, and later accidentally shot himself in the groin area before fleeing south on Interstate 25.

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Tony Jones, left, stands during a scheduled arraignment on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016, at 3rd Judicial District Court. Because Jones' lawyer was not present, the hearing was rescheduled for Sept. 12.(Photo: Anayssa Vasquez/Sun-News)

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James Nelson, right, stands during his arraignment Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016, at 3rd Judicial District Court. Nelson's lawyer argued for a bond reduction during the hearing, but the motion was denied.(Photo: Anayssa Vasquez/Sun-News)

Authorities said Hanes then carjacked a vehicle at a rest area near Radium Springs, shooting the driver before a previous failed carjacking attempt. He was eventually captured in the 23000 block of N.M. 185, after he crashed the stolen vehicle into a pile of wood.

In late August, a Doña Ana County grand jury found probable cause to indict Hanes on seven charges, including willful and deliberate first-degree murder in Chavez’s death. He also was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer and several drug charges.

Hanes’ attorney, Liane Kerr and Marie Miller of Albuquerque, raised several concerns in stating their reason for a change of trial venue. But their primary concern is the ongoing coverage of the case in the local news media and the publicity of Chavez’s death.

The motion extensively mentions the Sun-News’ coverage of Chavez’s death, and includes a chart of more than 20 headlines from Sun-News reports about Chavez and Hanes.

“The Las Cruces Sun (News) has given considerable coverage to this story and it is expected that similar stories will be posted every time a motion is filed or a hearing is held,” the motion reads.

Hanes’ attorneys also argue that Gov. Susana Martinez’s executive order that flags be flown at half-staff in honor of Chavez, and her condemnation of his death as a “senseless killing,” will “carry some weight with citizens,” in part because she is a former prosecutor, and could adversely impact the jury pool in Doña Ana County.

“I believe that Mr. Hanes cannot get a fair trial in Doña Ana County because the inhabitants of the county are prejudiced against him,” Kerr said in part in an affidavit included in the motion.

Kerr is asking for Hanes’ trial to be moved to another county in New Mexico, either Eddy, San Juan, McKinley, Taos, Santa Fe or Rio Arriba, where media coverage would be limited. She also argues that Hanes would not get a fair trial in Bernalillo, Luna, Otero and Sierra counties.

The motion indicates that 3rd Judicial District Attorney Mark D’Antonio opposes the request to change the trial venue.

The motion also suggests that Hanes will seek to move his federal trial, scheduled to begin in June 2017, to Albuquerque. Although, as of Friday, a change-of-venue motion had not been filed in U.S. District Court in Las Cruces.

On Aug. 16, a federal grand jury indicted Hanes on carjacking and firearms charges in connection to the incident at the rest stop. Later that month, a federal judge ordered that Hanes be detained in federal custody until trial.

In a separate motion, also filed last week in 3rd Judicial District Court, Kerr asked for a bond to be set in Hanes’ state case.

Kerr argued that Hanes has a constitutional right to bail. She said Hanes “understands that even if he posts bond” in the state case, "he will not be released due to the other pending matters in other jurisdictions,” noting the pending federal case and a murder charge out of Ohio, where Hanes is wanted in connection to a shooting death in July. Nelson also is wanted by Ohio authorities in the same shooting death.

Still, Kerr’s motion says Hanes “asks this Court to set a bond in the case.”

Prosecutors had not filed a response to Hanes’ motions as of Friday. A hearing has not been scheduled, court records show.

In the motion for bond, Kerr said Hanes’ case is “based on considerable innuendo and conjecture.” She said the primary evidence comes from Nelson and Jones who, she noted, are facing drug-related charges and have “come forward to inculpate” Hanes.

In a Sun-News story published last month, Jones gave a detailed account of the shooting and the days leading up to Aug. 12.

In September, all three men pleaded not guilty.

Jones, who is scheduled to appear in court on Monday for a motion hearing related to conditions of release, is scheduled to stand trial in March 2017.